Got Mars?

Chalky

ICBM said:

Chalky said:

Biggest problem is project obsolescence.  From Day 1 of stipulating requirements and design of the spacecraft to Day 1 of sailing off to Mars will be such a long time (20 years?) that some 20-50 percent of the spacecraft's design criteria and implementation will be known to be obsolete.  The risk profile will also have changed accordingly. There will be great political reluctance to send off the pioneering crew knowing that they are in a spacecraft of notably obsolete design.

This problem is shared with high-value military items like bombers and aircraft carriers - it isn't theoretical.

It also hasn't stopped the MoD pursuing several such projects to the bitter end, both recently and longer ago...

The problem is well-known in the unmanned planetary probes too - by the time they get to the outer reaches of the solar system, their electronics and software is years or sometimes decades old. With the rate of technological change now, that can be very frustrating for the designers.

Agreed - the big factor here is the pioneering crew. Ghosts of the Space Shuttle disasters will prove very hard to dispel when social media content highlights every single aspect of the shiny Mars Spacecraft that is obsolete...

Ravenous

octatonic said:

What I want to know is do Apple have a timeline for their first Martian Apple Store?

Right after the first Wetherspoons'.

That'll be the end of any atmosphere...

RocknRollDave

Ravenous said:

octatonic said:

What I want to know is do Apple have a timeline for their first Martian Apple Store?

Right after the first Wetherspoons'.

That'll be the end of any atmosphere...

Even on another planet, I guarantee that even minutes before opening time there will be a queue of regulars knocking on the door, looking at their watches and chomping at the bit for their first pint of Mild of the day